Multi-drop PPPoE (Re: [ale] Mindspring/Earthlink DSL and linux?) -- 386-486 sx/dx

[Frank Zamenski]

> Jeff Hubbs wrote:
> >
> > Dow -
> >
> > Coyote's stated minimum requirements are:
> >
> >
> >      486DX/25Mhz (lesser processors can only be used if a
> >      coprocessor is present)
> >      12Mb RAM
> >      1.44Mb Floppy Drive
> >      VGA Display
> >
> > I can tell you that I am working just fine with Coyote on an 8MB
> > 486DX/33.  Your 386DX/40 (I'm guessing the DX means that the 386 has
> > the coprocessor built in just like the 486) might be at the absolute
> > low end of what's usable, as long as you get a good pair of supported
> > NICs.  I wouldn't worry about DHCP load, but DNS load might be
> > something you wouldn't want to do on that 386 as a Coyote-based
> > firewall.
>
> Intel's numbering is kind of neurotic. The difference between the
> 386DX and the 386SX is that the DX had a 32-bit data bus, while the
> SX had an 16-bit data bus so as to enable systems to be built easily
> using older hardware. The difference between the 486DX and SX
> is the presence or absence of the floating-point unit. No 386 chips
> had integrated FPU. The only thing you can really count on is that
> SX means "crippled in some way."
>
> That means Coyote won't run on any FPU-less 386 or 486SX out of
> the box, but you could rebuild its kernel with FPU emulation and
> run it that way, with some performance penalty. Enough to matter
> for a router/firewall? Probably not, but who knows. I'm curious
> as to why they require the FPU; certainly none of the kernel-land
> packet filtering relies on it.
>
> - Joe
>
> --
> *** Joseph Knapka ***
> In any formula, constants (especially those obtained from handbooks)
> are to be treated as variables.
> --
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>

Some of those 386DX mobos also had an additional socket for the 387 mathco.
Did/does having one of those onboard eliminate the need to compile kernel
FPU
emulation? I don't know myself.

-fgz


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